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Seneca Falls Journal; Dump Vexes a Real-Life Bedford Falls

Finding connections between the fictional Bedford Falls and the real-life Seneca Falls has become a matter of civic pride in this old Finger Lakes mill town. Frank Capra visited the area before making his 1946 classic, ''It's a Wonderful Life,'' and many here are convinced that their hometown inspired the movie's setting.

Comparisons peak each December with a celebration called ''It's a Wonderful Life in Seneca Falls.'' This year's festivities, which begin on Dec. 6, will feature a visit by Karolyn Grimes, who played Zuzu Bailey in the movie, and ''Clarence sales'' at downtown stores.

Yet if George Bailey has been cast as the town's chief promoter, many believe that Mr. Potter is lurking at the northwestern edge of town, where the state's largest active landfill takes in an average of 6,000 tons of garbage and industrial waste a day.

The landfill, officially known as Seneca Meadows but scorned by many as Mount Trashmore, spans 530 acres. Refuse is trucked in from throughout central New York and is piled in dirt-covered mounds that rise high above the flat terrain.

Although detractors complain about the dust, the odors and the thousands of gulls hovering and swooping above the site, revenues from Seneca Meadows have paid for many of the public improvements intended to attract visitors and new residents.

''I weigh the pros and the cons,'' said the town supervisor, Peter Same. ''The cons are odor and traffic. The pros are finances.''

But that trade-off is suddenly getting a second look. Last month, when word spread that the landfill operators wanted to expand, many residents cried foul. A public hearing on Nov. 14 to discuss possible rezoning to allow operations on adjacent farmland drew hundreds of people. While officials of Seneca Meadows, which is privately run, emphasized their contributions to the local economy, many residents spoke against the plan and hundreds of voters signed petitions opposing it.

Two days later, an eight-hour fire at Tire Solutions International, across town from the landfill, destroyed about 5,000 scrap tires. The fire at the tire recycling facility prompted local officials to declare a state of emergency, asking residents not to leave their homes. The fire was quelled, in part because of firefighting foam supplied by Seneca Meadows, which keeps the substance on hand in case of a fire at its own tire recycling operation.

But the timing could not have been worse, Mr. Same said. Although the tire fire had no other connection to Seneca Meadows, it reminded people of a 1999 fire at the landfill that led to the evacuation of 1,500 people. Seneca Meadows officials described the fire as a flare-up fueled by a chemical dumped by the Seneca Army Depot, a closed base.

''We certainly don't want to be thought of as the dumping ground for New York State,'' Mr. Same said. ''We're a bedroom community, a tourist destination.'' Still, he said, people need to understand that without landfill dollars, municipal spending will go down and taxes will go up.

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Seneca Falls has an agreement to collect 4.5 percent of the landfill's gross revenues. As waste operations have grown, so has the town's income from the landfill, to an estimated $1.8 million in 2003 from $330,000 in 1991.

The money has become increasingly important as the community has lost industrial jobs to factory closings and cutbacks. Landfill revenues account for more than 40 percent of the town's $4.3 million budget and have financed a new community center, a downtown renovation and an expansion of the water system. Seneca Falls has not raised property tax rates since 1996.

But critics note that thousands of people come to the area to vacation along the lakes and to visit the Women's Rights National Historical Park and the National Women's Hall of Fame in downtown Seneca Falls. The first landmark they see when they exit the New York State Thruway is the Seneca Meadows landfill.

The location is also a concern because of the surrounding swamps and waterways, said Walter Hang, president of Toxics Targeting Inc., a company based in Ithaca that monitors waste sites around the state. The landfill sits in a marshy area between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes, bisected by a creek that drains into Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, five miles away.

The Seneca Meadows property encompasses an earlier landfill, which the state has cited for future cleanup. Records of the State Department of Environmental Conservation note that residents in the area have been advised to rely on municipal water and not to use their old wells.

Carl Casaccia, executive vice president of Seneca Meadows, said the company consistently met state requirements and constantly monitored its operations for problems. He noted that the state environmental agency had a full-time inspector on the site.

The site has been used as a landfill for more than 40 years, and Seneca Meadows bought the property in 1983. At its current size, the landfill has the capacity to continue running for eight more years. Permit and environmental studies require lengthy review, so the company has to plan for expansion now, Mr. Casaccia said.

In the meantime, Seneca Meadows faces a public relations challenge.

''We are what we are,'' Mr. Casaccia said. ''We are a landfill. That gives you a certain stigma.''

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A version of this article appears in print on November 29, 2002, on Page B00005 of the National edition with the headline: Seneca Falls Journal; Dump Vexes a Real-Life Bedford Falls. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe